Ships carrying Chinese military personnel left Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday to set up the country's first overseas support base in the East African nation of Djibouti.

Shen Jinlong, commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti, and conferred a military flag on the fleet.

The establishment of the PLA Djibouti base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides at heart, according to the PLA Navy.

The base will ensure China's missions, such as escorts, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid to Africa and west Asia.

The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuations, protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescues, as well as jointly maintaining security in international strategic seaways.

Photos on PLA'S official website 81.cn, show Liang Yang, who served as the PLA Navy spokesperson, taking the flag from Shen, which means Liang had been appointed as the base commander.

Liang was among the first spokespersons of the PLA Navy since the PLA spokesperson system was established in 2013. Liang previously worked for the UN as military observer from 2004 to 2006. He also led the missile frigate

Changzhouto escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters in 2012.